Exclusive: Foursquare Nears Deal on Broadway

Location-based social network Foursquare will say goodbye to its longtime office mates at 36 Cooper Square. The startup, which raised a $50 million round of funding this summer, has vastly outgrown the 7,600 square feet at the East Village digs it shares with Curbed and web design shop Hard Candy Shell, and is negotiating a sublease for the top two floors at 568 Broadway.

Nothing has been signed, but the deal has been in the works for more than two weeks and appears set to close soon. “We’re in the process of drafting the lease with Foursquare,” said Richard Pierpoint, real estate manager for Scholastic, which leases space at the building.

It’s not easy to find office space to accommodate the needs of a fast-growing startup. Most young Silicon Alley companies are in fierce competition for talent, so location matters–startups want the usual proximity to transportation and reasonable prices, but also require a hip neighborhood and room to rapidly expand. “There’s very little in that size range, and creative loft-like space is hard to come by in general, said one broker who works on similar deals.

Among startups, it would seem that 568 Broadway, a sunny elevator building at the confluence of eight subway lines, is in high demand. Foursquare was up against another buzzy, fast-growing startup: Tumblr, which raised $85 million in September and was also interested in the space, said multiple sources with knowledge of the negotiations. Scholastic decided to go with Foursquare. “They’re not pursuing 568 Broadway now or in the future,” said a source familiar with the deal, of Tumblr. “Obviously, they’re in the market for a lot of space.”